Every so often I like to read a science fiction or fantasy book. It’s a hang over from having a dad with a large sci-fi collection. Lately some Christian publishers have been including sci-fi and I’m glad. I know that it will be morally clean – knowwhatImean?
My latest read was Timescape by Robert Liparulo. Before the book starts there is a warning page that says, “STOP! Read the first 3 books before starting this one.” I thought, “Oh, okay. I would, but this is for a review and I have a pile to read so I’m just starting with this one.” About 5 pages in I realized they were totally right. It took a while to get oriented and just when I was figuring things out - it ended! No, it didn’t end – it just stopped. There is another book coming out. While I don’t mind authors that continue books I prefer some sort of climax and conclusion before the last page!
The basic storyline is interesting. The family’s house has a special third floor with rooms that are portals. The portals are to different times. By taking an object from the antechamber before they enter the portal they can get back to their house. So, there is danger in the different times as well as danger in the time they are rightly from.
Although it is geared for Young Adults I enjoyed the characters and the story line. I was impressed at the information included from the different time periods. Now, do I go back and get number 1?
Here is the back cover copy:
Which door would you go through to save the world?
David, Xander, and Toria King never know what new adventures–and dangers–await them beyond the mysterious portals hidden on the top floor of their new house. They have battled gladiators and the German army, dodged soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, and barely escaped a fierce attack in their own home.
Still they are no closer to finding their mother, who was pulled by powerful forces through a portal and lost in time.
Their only hope is to turn the tables on Taksidian, the menacing stranger who wants them out of the house so he can use it for his own twisted purposes.
But everything changes when a trip into the near future reveals the devastating outcome of Taksidian’s schemes–a destroyed city filled with mutant creatures. It is only then that the Kings realize what they’re really fighting for–the fate of humanity itself.
You can find out more about it at Robert Liparulo’s web site.
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Hi, Jendi…My family has been reading the Dreamhouse books since the first one, and I can’t imagine trying to jump in at book four. After Gatekeepers, I read a review from someone who’d started with that book, but she liked it anyway. I thought, wow, I’m not sure I would have liked it without reading the others. There are so many little nuances that play into the building story.
It really is a good story. If you read from the first one, I think you’d get the endings. They’re part of the fun. I’ve always thought of them more as a serialization of a very long novel than a series of novels. I love the way the characters are growing, both as individuals and as a family. I think you’d like the books, so I encourage you to go back and read from the beginning.
-Jeff